Influencer

Interior design can be dynamic and dramatic or it can be soft and supple but it should always be inspired. Meredith Xavier founder of the Ligne Agency and Ligné Magazine fell in love with beautiful things when working for Christies in Beverly Hills. After tiptoeing around the basement of the National Gallery and grabbing her Masters in Fine and Decorative Arts Connoisseurship she started the innovative Ligne Agency. Dealing exclusively with the creative world of interior design, the Ligne Agency offers a full public relations and business development service. Their highly selective client list boats the best artisans and designers in the business ensuring that high class vision is everything. We sit down with Meredith to find out how the ever tactile company of Ligne Agency is moving forward in the art of the digital age.

Every luxury expert has a different story on how they got started in the industry. What is yours?

I started at Christie’s Auction House in Beverly Hills. They hired me as an intern when I was a Junior at Pepperdine - and I became enamored with the culture. I was surrounded by incredible and significant works of art and decorative pieces. Soon I was cataloging sales and handling the business side of the art world.

I moved to London after I graduated and obtained my Masters in Fine and Decorative Arts Connoisseurship from Christie’s through the University of Glasgow. We spent our afternoons in the basement of the National Gallery viewing works of art the public has probably never seen. It was an incredible experience - and I knew working with the buyers and clients at this level was exactly where I wanted to be.

Tell us about Ligné Magazine. Who is your core audience and what marketing opportunities do you offer luxury brands?

Ligné Magazine started as an interior design focused publication and over the years has grown to encompass travel, fashion and culture. There is so much great design out there and sadly not as many places to get it published as there used to be in terms of print - so I decided to start my own magazine and tell the stories I wanted to tell. And I absolutely love to write, when I can find the time.

Our audience is consumers in the top 2% HHI and architects and designers that are working on multi-million dollar homes. Our print issue has controlled distribution, so our advertisers know exactly who it is going to. That is the biggest draw about working with Ligné Magazine. Our online readers vary greatly, but one thing they all have in common is a passion for interior design. That is the core of the magazine and always will be.

In what ways has your publication changed over the years? And how has your publication remained successful in light of competing digital magazines?

Like any magazine we have evolved dramatically each year. The design is better, the content is more international - and we are constantly striving to bring beautiful design to people who are perpetually on the lookout for ways to enhance their home, wardrobe and overall lifestyle. I don’t feel that we are competing with other digital publications - we live in a world that constantly bombards you with information. There is so much to see online that it is at times completely overwhelming. On the upside of that, digital publishing makes it easy to consume several magazines a day regardless of where you are. Ligné Magazine is meant to be something to escape with - a beautiful, clean design with great features that our readers can truly enjoy.

What do you think is the future for print publications, as compared to digital alternatives?

We print Ligné Magazine because the design industry is very tactile. They want to turn the pages, flag designs, bend a page corner - and even tear out images to put on an inspiration board. This is the beauty of print publications. What we are sharing and writing about is nothing like a newspaper. The magazines are meant to be kept and read over and over again - I will always prefer to read a magazine in print than online.

Digital brings accessibility. Articles are easy to share and everyone loves a good Pinterest board. We have a need for both, and I think we always will.

How has the world of social media affected print publications? And what is your strategy when it comes to social media?

Social media has allowed magazines to expand their audience by sharing original content and driving direct traffic directly back to their publication. It also helps build anticipation towards future issues - we love to preview articles or give sneak peeks to our social media followers so they have the inside track on our upcoming issues.

Many print magazines also manage a successful luxury blog. What is your take on this?

For us, we can’t put everything in print - so online is a venue to share stories and content that we think our audience would love, and just simply doesn’t work into an upcoming print issue. Having an online presence as a publication is vital to keeping readers engaged. It allows constant communication with readers that wouldn’t be available otherwise.

What do you think constitutes a successful marketing campaign? And what are some examples of successful campaigns that have featured in your publication?

A successful marketing campaign makes you stop and pay attention - whether through verbiage or imagery. It engages, and gives a relevant message to the audience for which it was created. Most of our advertisers are shelter industry focused, and the most successful campaigns are the simple ones. They exhibit great design with no fuss - they allow the quality of the product to come through and speak for itself.

Like most successful blogger/editor, you probably received hundreds of emails per month from luxury brands who want you to share their story. What makes you decide to work with a brand over the other?

I look for the unique - the one of a kind, and the true talent that isn’t just regurgitating what has been seen time and time again. I also publish products and projects that I personally feel stand for something. Sadly, that’s few and far between. And brands that send me a concise, to the point pitch that is tailored for our publication have a much better chance of getting coverage than the generic press release.

What is your take on press releases? Do you still enjoy receiving them or do you prefer a more personable one-on-one approach?

Definitely the one on one approach. We appreciate when a pitch is directed at our publication - knowing the individual who sent it has a knowledge and understanding of our audience and takes the time to send us edited and relevant content. Generic press releases that are sent to mass audiences are not of interest to us.

If you had to give advice to a new luxury startup on how to get featured in a prestigious luxury magazine, what would it be?

Get your brand out there - pick up the phone and call the editor you are pitching to. Let them know who you are - set a time to meet in person and show your work. Know your audience, your brand message and your PR goals. Editors appreciate hearing the story about the product and why it is significant, unique and worthy of valuable page space. Every pitch may not be a placement, but you are setting the foundation with that editor and building name recognition. That can only help the future success of your brand with that magazine.

Behind every great luxury blog, you will find a great story. Luxury bloggers are real people, not machines, and to successfully work with them, we recommend you get to know them a little better. Through our years at LuxeInACity, we have talked, collaborated and exchanged ideas with dozens of great bloggers from around the world.

Since bloggers rarely talk about themselves – they tend to talk about everyone else instead – we hope to showcase their skills, expertise and opinions in this blog series. Get to know them, learn from them and hopefully you will find an innovative way to collaborate with them.

Today’s blogger is Angie Silver, the founder and writer of SilverSpoon London. Her blog reflects her two passions: London lifestyle, especially the restaurant scene, and luxury travel. Angie’s uses her personal experience and recommendations to ensure her readers will be informed about the very best a destination has to offer.

Every blogger has a different story on how they got started blogging. What is yours?

I was working on another business venture and I started to develop the blog as part of that. I found that I enjoyed the blog even more than the other business and I decided redirect my focus. When I came to the decision that it was what I wanted to concentrate on, I renamed and rebranded to reflect my chosen style. I’ve always been passionate about food and luxury travel and my friends had constantly asked me for my advice on where to go and where to stay, the blog was the opportunity to collate this information all in one place and to write a personal diary that I can always long back on.

Like most successful bloggers, you probably received hundreds of emails per month from luxury brands who want you to share their story. What makes you decide to work with a brand over the other?

I prefer to mostly work with brands I know of and I will certainly only work with companies that share my values and are of interest to my readers.

What is your take on press releases? Do you like receiving them or do you simply discard them?

I always keep abreast of luxury travel news and trends through websites, news and other bloggers. However, it’s very useful to receive a press release straight from the source. It’s inevitable that I’m going to get some irrelevant ones but these can be filtered out and discarded very easily. I don’t run stories on my blog purely based on the press release, as my blog is all about my personal experience. However, if the news was of interest to my readers, I would certainly share it on my social media.

What would make you choose to work with a brand on a giveaway campaign on your site?

I prefer to work with brands that I’ve heard of and already have some sort personal connection with. However, if the brand espouses the same values as me I am certainly open to working with them. I’m always careful when I choose what prizes that I give away as I want to make sure it’s they are right for my blog and my audience.

If a brand wants to reach you, what channel should they use? Do you prefer email, social media or another means of communication?

I prefer to be contacted via email so I have all my communications in one place. I also think it’s safer, some brands want to send me samples of products and I prefer not to give out my address over Twitter.

What is the coolest gift you have received from a luxury brand in a blogger outreach program?

I’ve been fortunate enough to stay in some beautiful hotels and dine in amazing restaurants. I’m very grateful for the opportunities that my blog has given me.

Of all the social media channels you engage on, which one do you prefer and why?

I really like the interaction that you get over twitter. I’m able to network with brands I’m interested and have a personal connection with my readers.

Which social media channels does your audience interact with the most?

Mostly Twitter, but I think Instagram is also huge for the luxury travel market. The visuals of beautiful places, hotels and scenery just can’t be fully appreciated in words.

In your opinion, what does it take to become successful on social media?

Dedication. A continuous and consistent social media presence in vital, as is networking and interaction with the right people. Good content is also important as well as eye-catching visuals.

What is the main reason you blog on a daily basis? Is it for pleasure, for business or for both?

Both! Blogging is my business but I’m absolutely passionate about it so much so that you can rarely pull me away from my computer or phone!

Apart from blogging, do you offer additional services to luxury brands who choose to work with you?

I have a strong background in events planning and I’m happy to help with organizing group blogger events.

If you had to mentor a new blogger, what is your go-to advice to become successful?

Definitely focus on what you love to write about and with so many bloggers out there, make sure that you have a niche. You won’t become an overnight success, building a blog takes time and dedication. One of key ways I’ve found of growing my blog is networking both online and offline. I have a strong relationship with other bloggers and my readers on social media, but I also meet them face-to-face at events and meet ups.

Recently, I was approached by Brady Dale, contributor at Fortune Magazine, for my opinion on the future of luxury. Although Dale presented my opinion in a very smart way (thank you Dale!), I wanted to take a little more time to put together additional thoughts on the future of luxury in 2015 to share with those who might need a few extra tips. So here you go, a few tips from someone who has held many luxury hats. Here are a few trends to follow if you want to keep up with the future of luxury.

The Shift From “Me” to “We”

In this new digital era, it’s no secret that luxury brands must embrace their community if they want to stand a chance against the test of time. New luxury consumers, especially Millenniums, need a little more interaction than a great advertising campaign plastered in print magazines and on TV. They want luxury brands to engage them through social media on a regular basis, not just by pushing products and branded facts, but by being real. To achieve this, brands must educate and entertain with interesting content and offer customer service through social media instead of setting up an offshore call center with no real value.

I recently spent a week analyzing the social media channels of dozens of luxury brands as part of a study for a patron and noticed that most are still stuck in the “Me” era. Most talk about them, themselves and … once again themselves. They rarely acknowledge the fans they are speaking to, and they barely interact with influencers or other industry leaders unless it is for self-promotion. Although some luxury brand managers might think they have embraced the community, I suggest they take time to educate themselves on what it means to have a community mindset in 2015.
These “stuck-in-another-era” luxury brands will need to adapt quickly to the new realities of the “we” environment if they want to stay in the game. Select luxury brands are already paving the way and establishing a new luxury brand/fan relationship standard. A brand can still be exclusive and luxurious while being a member of the community; they simply need to be real.

The Rise of the Luxury Curator

We all know “Time is of the essence” but when it comes to the affluent audience, “Time is the ultimate luxury”. When I worked as a personal assistant for a High Net Worth Individual, roaming the world, planning luxury experiences or buying luxury goods, I was told “unless the cost is more than $10,000, please don’t come to me for an opinion. Just make the purchase yourself according to my taste and needs.” Obviously, when you start out as a personal assistant, that statement is a little scary, but with time, you realize that for HNWI, their time is more precious than their money. They have plenty of money, but little time to enjoy it. Once I gained the full trust of my employer, that $10,000 price point was gradually raised to $50,000.

Therefore, expert curators are luxury influencers, whether they are luxury bloggers, personal assistant, personal shoppers, art curators, and luxury travel agents. They will become even more precious to those who hold the real cash in upcoming years.

For luxury brands, this means that they will need to cater to these influencers and treat them with the same respect as HNWI since they often hold keys to the wallet. I will always remember the day when I entered a car dealership in Montreal and bought two new SUVS in 30 minutes. I didn’t want to drive them; I just needed a charcoal and black one that would be comfortable enough for a Golden Retriever. Now that is purchasing power in the luxury industry.

Luxury Experience Trumps Luxury Good

All good luxury marketing expert understands that in this highly competitive industry, it’s rarely about selling the characteristics of the product, but about promoting the brand experience surrounding the goods. This is why luxury brands spend large sums of money to bring forth their brand story through all available marketing channels.

Once again, it’s no longer enough to tell the story; luxury brands must allow their patrons to “live” this story through exclusive events, private shopping experiences, one-on-one interactions and more. For example, Shawn Boyer, head designer and co-founder of Anatomie, a luxury travel fashion brand, will often fly out to meet his patrons in their private homes to crank up their personal style. He will obviously coordinate Anatomie outfits, but also assist these influential women with heaps of fashion advice. His patrons have become his friends, and you can be sure that these ladies give him a lot back in return for his time and generosity. Shawn makes luxury human once more. He reminds me of Coco Chanel and other great luxury designers when they all started their career. You have to admit that it is a shame that you no longer get the same level of service with luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint-Laurent.

Although, we have seen many trends in the last year to convince us that the future of luxury is changing, I feel that these are the most important and often the most disregarded by luxury brands. What do you think? Find me on social media, and share your opinion.

Behind every great luxury blog, you will find a great story. Luxury bloggers are real people, not machines, and to successfully work with them, we recommend you get to know them a little better. Through our years at LuxeInACity, we have talked, collaborated and exchanged ideas with dozens of great bloggers from around the world.

Since bloggers rarely talk about themselves – they tend to talk about everyone else instead – we hope to showcase their skills, expertise and opinions in this blog series. Get to know them, learn from them and hopefully you will find an innovative way to collaborate with them.

Today’s blogger is Yasmin, a travel addict in love with the finer things that life offers. Her blog, Luxury Travel Diary reflects her devotion to her passions – travel and fashion. Be it a boutique hotel or the latest haute couture collection, you are sure to get a glimpse into the world of luxury, as she perceives it.

Let’s find out her take on the luxe side of life.

Every blogger has a different story on how they got started blogging. What is yours?

I was a regular poster on Flyertalk and TripAdvisor but I felt that TripAdvisor was getting diluted by a lot of unfair posts and pictures of defects within the hotels (hairs in plug holes, rust on radiators etc) rather than focusing in on the overall experience. I wanted to write honestly about the beautiful hotels I have been fortunate enough to stay in, but focusing in on how special and individual each hotel is. I have extensive experience of luxury hotels and products. My husband is a brilliant developer so he made me a beautiful website. Now people read and like what we are doing which is an honor. Every day it gives me great joy to share our wonderful stories with other travelers. I hope it inspires people to take the trips we have done and stay where we have stayed.

What is your take on press releases? Do you like receiving them or do you simply discard them?

This really depends what the press release is. If it is, for example, a high end brand hotel opening or a fun fashion release with beautiful photos, we will certainly consider running it.

What would make you choose to work with a brand on a giveaway campaign on your site?

Holidays always work well and are wonderfully visual so our readers love them. We have no problems setting up a competition as long as the prize is appealing enough.

If a brand wants to reach you, what channel should they use? Do you prefer email, social media or another means of communication?

Email is always the best as we get so many DM messages particularly on twitter that we can occasionally miss them.

What is the coolest gift you have received from a luxury brand in a blogger outreach program?

We do get offered many wonderful hotel nights (usually not in the highest season) and have received wonderful ski equipment and gear as well as some superb jewelry. My current favorite is a piece of luggage kindly sent to me from Dressage Collection. It is truly beautiful!

Of all the social media channels you engage on, which one do you prefer and why?

Twitter, the audience is absolutely lovely and sends me kind messages suggesting places to go and feedback on my articles. I love this kind of interaction and to know that people enjoy reading what I write… well there is nothing better!

Which social media channels does your audience interact with the most?

Twitter is our most interactive channel.

In your opinion, what does it take to become successful on social media?

Hard work, more hard work, more hard work and when you go away to review places you have to remember you are taking your audience there too and must keep up the live tweets so a holiday is never quite a holiday! Suits me though, I’m not a sunbathing kinda gal – I get bored easily!

Do you monitor your Klout score on a daily/weekly basis? Do you think this social ranking is of any real value to luxury brands?

Yes I think Klout score is very important as there are a lot of social media accounts out there, and this is the easiest way to differentiate between the offerings. We currently rank 65 and we are still going up.

What is the main reason you blog on a daily basis? Is it for pleasure, for business or for both?

Both!

Apart from blogging, do you offer additional services to luxury brands that choose to work with you?

I am open to suggestion.

Do you think luxury brands should understand that blogging is also a business for some?

Yes, it is for me- I don’t think you can write a good blog part time, it needs to be a full time occupation and passion. Some brands like to get coverage for free and get upset if it is not offered – Not cool.

What would you say is the best thing about being a luxury blogger?

It is a passion of mine. Luxury Travel in particularly is what I love and by writing my blog I am able to share this with my readers. It makes me truly happy!

If you had to mentor a new blogger, what is your go-to advice to become successful?

Pick a subject that you really truly love, then just do it. I think a lot of blogs are started, and then the writer becomes busy with something else. If you really want to be a blogger you need to give up pretty much everything else and put all your energies into your blog. As always, there is no magic to success, it is unbelievably hard work, but if you love what you do, and I do, it is absolutely worth the hard graft.

The founder and visionary behind The Snob Magazine, Jeffrey Gomez is an expert on the exclusive nature of all things luxury. Starting out as a writer for Source Interlink Media and their automotive titles in his college days, he turned to the world of wealth and attained the position of a lead investment broker at a Beverly Hills hedge fund.

But the lure of the world of luxury made him take another turn in his career. Determined to wipe away the inane concept of ’mass luxury’, he started The Snob Magazine – ”a luxury lifestyle publication that provides readers with a highlight of the very best luxuries from around the world”.

Every expert has a different story on how they got started blogging. What is yours?

I started The Snob Magazine after I left a great career as an investment broker. Having dealt with the super rich for work, I knew the arena and players well. Creating The Snob around that audience was the natural progression.

Like most luxury experts, you probably receive hundreds of emails per month from luxury brands who want you to share their story. What makes you decide to work with a brand over the other?

I look for a rich history of a brand. I am particularly interested in the quality of their products and/or services. Too many brands are stuffed full of marketing, but what it really comes down to is service and quality.

What is the best pitch you have received from a luxury brand? What is the worst?

The best pitches tell me a story and sell me on why I should pay attention. Set me up with a scenario and lay out for me what is important. The worst pitches are all hype and are quickly deleted. I need substance, not marketing and gimmicks.

What is your take on press releases? Do you like receiving them or do you simply discard them?

I hate press releases. I understand that it is an efficient way to get information out, but I don't believe that it does much good for magazines or other publications. Sure TV and newspapers can use the information from a press release to write up a quick snippet, but marketing and publicity needs to be more delicate and specific for outlets if you want to have any real and meaningful coverage.

What would make you choose to work with a brand on a giveaway campaign on your site?

I would want cross promotion and marketing. We can get your brand in front of a large and well-heeled audience, but we need help in return. Too often brands ask for something and give nothing in return. It is a two way street and brands need to follow up with their business if we send them customers. Dropping the ball will make us all look bad.

If a brand wants to reach you, what channel should they use? Do you prefer email, social media or another means of communication?

Email is the best way to reach our magazine. Social media works sometimes, but it is too familiar and relaxed. This is a business after all.

What is the coolest gift you have received from a luxury brand in an outreach program?

I get endless gifts, thankfully! From watches to private jets.

Of all the social media channels you engage on, which one do you prefer and why?

I prefer Instagram. I think people want to see splashy images. The ability to comment is also appealing to the public. Having direct commentary to a taste maker makes consumers feel empowered and listened to.

Which social media channels does your audience interact with the most?

I think it is a toss between Instagram and Twitter.

In your opinion, what does it take to become successful on social media?

Presence and persistence. You can't blog off and on and you can't not answer questions or reply late. We live in an instant gratification era and anything other than timely will lose.

Do you monitor your Klout score on a daily/weekly basis? Do you think this social ranking is of any real value to luxury brands?

Social ranking, etc is all bogus. Just take one look at Fiverr.com and you will see that anything can be bought. Marketing and PR people need to focus on the publication and their audience and partnerships with other brands. Everything else is irrelevant.

Do you sometime receive compensation from luxury brands, whether it's in the form of cash or incentives, to write about them?

Yes.

Apart from your managing your magazine, do you offer additional services to luxury brands who choose to work with you?

Definitely. It just comes with having a very wealthy audience. We do everything from private dinners to events, experiences with companies for our audience.

Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous through your work as a luxury expert?

Living in Los Angeles, I interact heavily with the movers and shakers of entertainment and politics. A great number of our readers are very famous, but naming names is so passé. Rest assured though, we get emails all the time asking for specific help from some very important people.

If you had to mentor a new writer, what is your go-to advice to become successful?

Work, work and work. Keep your nose down and write. Everything else will fall into place. Content is KING!

I have written it before, creating an engaging blog that people want to read takes a lot of passion and dedication. The first year in blogging is the hardest since everything seems to go in slow motion. You keep asking yourself "Why am I doing this again?" and everyone around you wonders the same. Then all of a sudden you notice your site traffic picking up and new fans following you on social media every day. This is when you remember why you blog - to share your expertise with those who seek it. You get excited, then at one point you start getting too many emails to keep up with, and this is when you get hooked by the fun of fit all.

Being nominated by a panel of industry experts as one of the Top 20best luxury travel bloggersfelt incredible, but being voted as one of the Top 10 best luxury travel bloggers by readers feels ever better.

I remember when I started, looking up at JustLuxe and Pursuitist, simply trying to determine the voice of our own blog. Their success seemed so out-of-reach, but I told myself "What do you have to lose if you try? If you know you can contribute to the industry in a new way, why not just take it one post at a time?"

At first, we mostly blogged about new luxury - product launches, new marketing campaign, but then we came into our own when we started focusing more and more on luxury travel. As someone who spends her life traveling the world, it simply made more sense. I have never bought a Louis Vuitton handbag, that is simply not my style, but I have been aboard superyachts, stayed at five-star hotels and eaten in some of the best restaurants in the world. I asked myself "If you were suddenly a billionaire, what would you do with the money?" The answer was simple - buy a luxury yacht and travel the world. To become successful at blogging, we needed to follow our passion with LuxeInACity, and our passion was luxury travel.

Obviously, Maxine and I couldn't have done this alone. A great thanks to all our writers and contributors who have shared inspiring stories with us for our readers. A special thanks to Mahasweta Bhattacharyyawho has become the gate-keeper of LuxeInACity, the one who makes sure everything is just right.

If you are curious to know who else made the top 10 Best Luxury Travel Bloggers for 2014 list by popular vote, here they are:

Not all affluent consumers are the same, but finding common characteristics that defines segments in this market can help us understand and better target this high value consumer base. Focusing on smaller homogeneous groups that think and behave in a similar fashion allows a brand to customize its offering, making them more relevant to the consumer. Nowadays, luxury is about providing a personable, customization experience to the end user.

Our friends at Agility Research and their team of data scientists and methodologists propose a new insightful segmentation solution - the Affluent Luxury Consumer Segmentation. Using data from syndicated studies conducted every quarter, they have identified four distinct affluent consumer profiles based on behaviour and psychographic attitudes in relation to purchasing luxury products from different categories.

The Affluent consumer audience can, therefore, be segmented as such:

“Exclusivity is a luxury only a premium brand can deliver.”

The Exclusivity Seeker

is a key segment for many high-end brands as they have considerable disposable income and spend liberally across multiple luxury categories. These consumers spend on luxury cosmetics and fashion and are especially likely to spend on travel. For this segment exclusivity is a luxury a premium brand can deliver. They are likely to be female, 40-49 years old, a Manager, Director, or VP in a public or private company.

“Luxury products that I buy on my travels elevate my social status.”

The Indulgent Traveler

buys luxury predominantly at airports or in cities they travel to. The travel indulger is also something of a socialite who is looking to elevate his social status by buying luxury products. He is likely to be a professional (e.g., doctor, lawyer, engineer), male , and 30-49 years of age. The Travel Indulger spends money on high-end accessories such as premium/ luxury watches and jewellery.

“ Online luxury does not phase me; I research and buy virtually.”

The Virtual Shopper

does not have an issue with luxury converging with the online world. She both researches and makes luxury purchases online. She values luxury goods for their higher quality and uniqueness. The virtual Citizen is predominantly a female professional who is 20-29 years old. Her wardrobe is likely to displays fashion pieces from Calvin Klein, Gucci, Coach, and/or Chanel.

“Luxury is great, but only at the right price online and tax-free.”

The Luxury Bargain Hunter

sees luxury goods desirable, but only at the right price. This segment goes online to search for luxury products and prefers to buy products tax free. The Luxury Bargain Hunter is likely to be a female aged 50-59, a professional, or a mid to high level manager. While they have the least spending power out of all the segments, the Luxury Bargain Hunters spend more than others on electronic gadgets and on their vehicle.

Seek a consultant at www.affluential.com to get a more comprehensive profile of each segment or to apply their unique segmentation solution to your projects.

Wow! I am extremely proud to announce that LuxeInACity, our travel blog, has been nominated as one of the Top 20 Luxury Travel Blogs by USA Today and 10Best. It feels great to be recognized for the quality of our content and be amongst such industry leaders.

When you start blogging, you ask yourself why, why would anyone ever want to read anything I have to say. But yet, you continue because you are a little crazy. Somehow you believe that you can inspire others to take action upon reading your advice. For someone like me, someone with a true passion for travel, blogging is about filling that need to share my discoveries with everyone.

As some of you might know, in the last 15 years, I have traveled to 65 countries, often visiting the same country or even city dozens of time. You might think that I would want the house with the picket fence, but no, I still much prefer the open road.

Since last October, I have been on a Pan American road trip to discover as much as I can about this great continent. Although I was expecting to be in Argentina by now, we have only made it to Nicaragua. The "we" includes my boyfriend Tommy and my chubby main coon cat "Minou". I know, who travels with a cat, right? Someone as crazy as me. So why are we traveling so slow? The reason is simple, there is too many amazing places on the way to rush through it. This is a once in a lifetime trip and I want to make sure it lives up to its full potential.

I have to admit, I am not someone who is naturally drawn to the pen and paper. I am a sailor, a traveler. I am one of those eternal nomads that can never stay in the same place for too long. I much prefer to spend my days swimming with whales sharks, sand-boarding down an active volcano or learning to surf. Yet, as often as I can, I try to share my experiences on paper to inspire others to follow in my footsteps.

So please, pick a destination, somewhere you have never been, somewhere that sounds very exotic and fascinating and go learn about yourself as you discover the world. Allow us to inspire you to travel the world through our stories.

A serial entrepreneur, Scott Eddy is the digital guru you can depend on to help you form lasting meaningful relationships for your business. With an enviable base of followers, he sure knows how to create and nurture relationships. Offering corporate training and consulting services for individuals and businesses, he is also a noted public speaker specializing on topics such as Entrepreneurship, Startups, Social Media, Sales, and Motivation.

According to him, “I love starting companies, so when I get an idea, and have the situation (and time) to do it, then I do it.” Presently, he owns a digital agency in Bangkok, where he has a great team, along with whom he manages what he loves to do most – connect with people.

Let’s take a look at how he began on his career as a digital nomad.

As someone who is both an entrepreneur and on a PanAmerican road trip, your blog post "What it’s like to be an entrepreneur and a serious traveler at the same time" resonated with me. You talk about using social media to connect with people in real-life throughout your travels. Any tips on how to find the right people to connect with?

Whenever I am going to a new country, before I go I always go through Twitter to see who is the most active and engaging (brands and people) I try to connect with them, and usually a good group of people reach out to me. I use Twitter for this because out of all the social media platforms, Twitter is the quickest way to connect with someone.

There has been a lot of controversies surrounding Facebook in the last year and many brands have considered shutting down their account for good. In this new Facebook era, what do you recommend to brands who are trying to build a loyal following on Facebook.

Facebook is definitely making it harder everyday. Basically I would say you 'have to' set aside a budget to do paid campaigns through Facebook, if that is against what you believe it, then I feel it will be impossible to build a huge following on there. And if you do achieve it, the way they have things set up, even if you do have a huge following, if you are not paying for 'boosts' or 'sponsored' posts, then your following will not see most of what you post anyway.

Twitter is a great way to build connections with industry peers. As someone who now has hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter, can you give us a tip on how to build a loyal fan base?

This is exactly what I talk about when I do consulting for this industry. The first thing I recommend is to find your competitors, and see who is engaging with them, see who follows them, and follow those people. From my experience, if I follow 100 of those people, usually about 25-50% of them will follow back. And if you are doing this everyday, think about the possibilities. I say this to everyone, and I will say to you as well, Twitter is the best platform out there!!!!!

Instagram is a great way to both capture your travel and connect with others who share the same passion. What type of pictures do you find works best to inspire likes and comments from the community?

I think it depends on your following. I usually post quotes, travel pics and, of course, food pics. You have to remember, most of social media is people living vicariously through other people, so try to post unique images, things with the 'wow effect.'

Although a lot of brands tend to dismiss Google + for other social networks, Google seems keen on making it a leader. In your opinion, should brands give this network the chance it deserves?

I feel that unless you are deep into the technology, this platform is useless. I know some people have success there, but I just don't see it. I have tried a few times with zero success. If its working for you, I applaud you, but I am done with it.

Of all the social media channels you engage on, which one do you prefer and why?

I think my answer is a little obvious. I don't think anything can touch Twitter. You can connect with someone immediately, with less than 12% of all accounts are private you can see what they are talking about and who they are engaging with, and this is the place that most news agencies are getting their first reports from....so it's definitely the place to be for me!

Do you monitor your Klout score on a daily/weekly basis? Do you think this social ranking is of any real value to determine influence?

Klout is an interesting topic. While I think it is a remarkable tool, I doubt the credibility behind it. Let me give you an example, about a year ago I had a ranking of 76, at that time I had about 250-275K followers on Twitter, and less than 5K on Facebook and Instagram. Now I am much more engaging, have over 500K followers on Twitter and 20K on Facebook and 30K on Instagram (and did I mention MUCH more engaging) and now my Klout score is 72. For me, Klout is EXTREMELY frustrating and I just don't get how they get their scores.

In your opinion, which social media will lead the way in the next 5-10 years?

I think Twitter will get much more relevant, and I think while Facebook will still be relevant, I think they will push more and more people away.

If you had to mentor a new social media newbie, what is your go-to advice to become successful?

Build relationships!!! To be honest, that is all I do on Twitter. I am not looking to sell anything, I have no other motive. I want to make as many friends as I can around the world, because some of those relationships will turn into long-lasting business relationships.

The biggest challenge in connecting with influencers for brand awareness lies in identifying the right influencer; in marketing terminology – understanding the characteristics defining an influencer for your luxury brand.

Influencers are usually very active in various social media circles and through blogs. They are brand promoters, brand advocates and niche marketers.

Does your luxury brand really need influencers? Of course! When someone who has hundreds and thousands of followers on social media platforms hails your luxury brand as the next best thing, you will inevitably gain brand exposure in front of an audience who is attentive.

Luxury brands have to look at influencers as mutual friends, connecting their luxury brand to thousands of potential customers. Customers these days do not pay heed to the hordes of billboards or listen to the rhyming commercial jingles like they used too; they are intelligent and want to research a product or a brand on their own and, perhaps, take in the advice of an influencer they trust.
So, what defines an influencer?

Niche: Having someone who has a huge fan following is not going to be of much use to you unless they reach out to your target audience. So, the ideal influencer would be someone who can wield influence over your niche market.

Audience: The influencer's audience must be targeted and focused on your coveted audience. Even though Miley Cyrus or Justin Beber both have millions of social media fans, and may be considered as some of the most influential celebrities, their tweet praising your products might actually hurt your brand if you are trying to reach the affluent consumer.

Reach: An influencer with a huge fan following will surely have a bigger impact than one with a smaller reach. Saying this, do not disregard those who have just joined the digital game as they might become the most influential in a year's time.

Personality Type: A celebrity can be an influencer but so can an environmental activist, a mommy blogger or a private concierge. Before starting an influencer campaign, define the ideal influencer persona that will best suit your brand interests.

Location: Although you may want to reach a specific location, remember that the web is international and influencers often exert authority without borders.